<p>ACT 28/36
SAT I 1750/2400
SAT II Bio 600/800
Chinese 800/800</p>
<p>a very accomplished classical pianist
Level 7 with the Royal School of Music
finalist in several sonatina contests
top 20% in the pool of our state</p>
<p>nationally ranked in his sports
top 15 in his age group
winning the national championship 2 times
finalists 2 times in the past 3 seasons</p>
<p>gpa 2.0
no AP or Honor classes except AP music theory in junior year. </p>
<p>He has the habit of funking his classes & retaking again. He did that with Bio, Algebra 2, french 3 : always replacing D/F with A/B. It was so frustrating to the family to see him doing that. And the worst is he got 3Fs in junior year which cannot be readily remediated - physics, precalculus & AP music theory. Right now, he is taking online classes for physics & Pre-cal with a college but nobody is offering ap music theory online. I also doubt he has the discipline to finish the online classes on time before college application.</p>
<p>My question now is he has lost the chance to apply for UC (with a 2.0 gpa) nor CSU (with the Fs). The sport he plays gives him the hope of being recruited for east coast private colleges. He has good contact with some coaches & they have his profile & said would pass onto admissions. We need a plan B as I know he may end up going nowhere with all the Fs. What are the colleges that take students who obviously have the capability but did not put their hearts into school work? What is the deadline that he must fix all those Ds/Fs? BTW, we have lived in Asia & Australia before moving to the US for work- so the kids have been exposed to different education systems & culture. They are pretty confident & always stress the need to have a life of their own instead of following suit in a public high school.</p>
<p>I need some inputs from parents with similar experience. What can/should be done as I am feeling that he may end up losing the chance to continue in a college?</p>
<p>I suggest calling the admissions offices of the schools directly and getting their opinion. The kids my son knows that had D’s and wanted to get into CSU’s had to retake the classes and get a C or better (C- is considered a C). Yet on on a recent post, someone said that some of the CSU’s might be accepting of D’s. That’s why a call to the admissions offices is probably your best bet. Since UC acceptance is more difficult, this may be less likely, but again, I would call the schools he is interested in and see what they say.</p>
<p>I dont mean to sound condescending but if S is bright enough earn those scores on ACT/SAT, clearly theres something else going on for him to get Ds and Fs. What makes you think that shipping him across the country will change whatever is lacking in his motivation for him to be successful at university? Even if a coach is able to get him admitted, hell still have to pass all his classes to stay enrolled to say nothing of staying on the team. </p>
<p>I suggest you have him take a deep look inside himself and have an honest discussion about his goals. Ask if college is really right for him? Maybe hes getting those grades to ensure he cant go, he just doesnt want to tell (disappoint) you. It wouldnt be the first time.</p>
<p>"The sport he plays gives him the hope of being recruited for east coast private colleges. "
Hate to throw cold water on this, but if he was going to be “recruited” he would already have been contacted by coaches months ago, and told to get his application in by now, so they could walk them to the admission office. Most recruited seniors already have their applications done and submitted, and many already received a commitment letter from colleges this past summer.</p>
<p>Clearly, school is at best the 3rd priority for him - if I know teenage boys there’s at least one other priority that trumps all the rest. Maybe he’s just to preoccupied with his out of school activities to devote the necessary time to his studies. It’s likely to late but perhaps restricting practice time in piano or his sport or both until his grades improve might get him to open a book.</p>
<p>"That only applies to Division 1, right? "
Which part?. A friend whose son was recruited by a Div 3 college knew he was a “tip” or top recruit on the coaches list at the end of his Jr year. He had his application letter in by late Aug and a offer of acceptance by the beginning of Sept.</p>
<p>^^concur. A neighbor’s kid has several D3 coaches begging him to apply, including a couple of UC’s. Of course, he also has a A- average and a 32 on the ACT.</p>
<p>OP: You need to recalculate your son’s “UC-gpa” (which is also Cal State gpa) bcos failing grades are replaced by the higher, passing grade for gpa calculations and admissions eligibility. Thus, the publics might still be an option. Also, suggest your S start speaking with a couple of community college coaches, where he could continue his sport and work hard to earn solid grades. If he’s good enough in his sport, a strong B average could make him eligible for transfer to a UC or Cal State after one year.</p>
<p>For what it’s worth, my d was a Div III recruit, and the college she now attends invited all its recruits to visit in the fall of their senior year. So the timeline is not always as accelerated as described above. None of the Div III colleges my d was looking at had finished its recruiting by fall. </p>
<p>I think the timeline is different for each sport. It’s important to know what the sport is before declaring that it’s too late for the OP’s son.</p>
<p>In some sports it is not unusual to not be committed to a school by now. Fall is a busy season for recruiting, but if this student is not in touch with coaches at all, the prospects are not all that good. Coaches are not supposed to make contact (D1) with students until July 1 before senior year. I agree that this is not a student who seems to have the potential for academic success in college at this point. Maybe a gap year???</p>
<p>A larger issue for this student may be that when he completes the NCAA Eligibility Clearinghouse form, he will be SPECIFICALLY asked if he has failed any courses, and if any courses were retaken (and why). My guess is that gets figured into the GPA for elig purposes in some way. </p>
<p>Colleges may well look at retakes differently for GPA purposes than NCAA. </p>
<p>Bluebayou, that is good to hear. Is this student in a helmet sport? S2 has gotten some very enthusiastic “please apply!” D-III and I-AA comments, and we are sure it’s due to the academics rather than athletic ability (though he is a BIG kid).</p>
<p>Agree that the OP’s son seems to be a bright kid but something else is happening to have such poor grades followed by great ones. I wouldn’t be sinking $$ into college (CSU, East Coast private, etc.) without getting that issue resolved first.</p>
<p>Suppose your S ends up in a Division III East Coast private school, do you feel he is going to apply himself academically or will you just be wasting your money? There are no scholarships for Division III Athletes. Does your family qualify for financial aid? If not, then possibly you could be paying full freight (maybe 50K/year). You really need to consider the financial aspects of this!</p>